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The present invention relates to a method for training aircraft pilots in an aircraft flight simulator. In particular, the invention utilizes a fault analysis guide to aid a pilot in the identification of a fault condition, the location of a corresponding fault procedure to be performed by the pilot, and the performance of the fault procedure associated with the given fault condition.
The majority of flight crew training today occurs in aircraft flight simulators. Training is also performed in the aircraft itself but in general the flight simulator is safer and does a better job of presenting an actual problem without the hazards of the actual problem in the aircraft. A typical flight simulator can closely duplicate the feel of a specific aircraft.
Every aircraft is required to have an Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) that is used to train pilots. Each AFM has a section describing procedures for handling emergency or abnormal problems. Using the AFM, the aircraft manufacturer, training provider, or aircraft operator can create a manual or checklist of these procedures to be used as a resource during emergencies. Typically, this emergency manual or checklist includes pages such as an index for locating an appropriate procedure and pages for presenting the various procedures in a series of steps for the pilot to perform, along with other pertinent information regarding those procedures.
As aircraft and flight training manuals have become more complicated over the last sixty years, so have the emergency manuals and procedures become more complex. The organization of the index or procedure locator section becomes critical to the efficient use of the manual. In addition, very little has been done heretofore to standardize the presentation and description of the procedures themselves in the manuals. Different entities such as the aircraft manufacturer, the training provider, government agencies, the airline, and aircraft operators all have their own agendas regarding how to present aircraft procedures to flight crew members in training. A standard way for presenting and describing aircraft procedures that has been applied across all aircraft and company systems in the aircraft industry therefore does not exist. Small differences in the design and presentation of manuals and checklists can be roadblocks to both the location of an appropriate procedure and the smooth execution of that procedure, especially when pilots are required to fly more than one type of aircraft.
Additionally, flight crews operate in a multi-dimensional environment so that when aircraft emergencies or abnormal conditions occur, appropriate response procedures need to be quickly identified and accomplished even though there are often other cockpit tasks that simultaneously need consideration. Flight crew stress is related to the effective handling of aircraft emergencies. Confusion and doubt caused by the various different types of emergency manuals only creates additional stress, which diminishes the likelihood of locating and efficiently accomplishing the appropriate procedure when a problem does occur.
Aircraft today include a variety of indicators that provide signals or cues to the pilot when system problems occur. There are a number of ways that pilots can be notified of a problem. For example, many airplanes have what is known as a xe2x80x9cmaster warning light panelxe2x80x9d. This panel has rows and columns of backlit capsules that remain dark until a fault condition occurs. When a fault condition occurs, the associated capsule illuminates and displays descriptive wording (often abbreviated) or indicia that references the fault condition. Additionally, a xe2x80x9cmaster warning lightxe2x80x9d in the glareshield in front of both pilots also illuminates and flashes words like xe2x80x9cMaster Cautionxe2x80x9d until it is reset by a flight crewmember.
Depending on the problem and on the standard of the aircraft manufacturer, the capsules may illuminate in different colors, for example, red or amber light. Red generally indicates a warning or emergency and is the most serious type of message requiring a prompt action. Amber generally indicates an abnormal condition and is less serious but requires a corrective action when time permits.
Other cockpit lights can illuminate to either support the lights in the master warning light panel or operate as standalone system warning lights. Additionally, individual instruments can include flags that are usually located in the instruments that are viewed most often by the pilots and indicate the quality of the information that is provided by the given instrument.
Newer aircraft have what is known as a xe2x80x9cglass cockpitxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cpartial glass cockpit.xe2x80x9d Instead of a master warning light panel and other mechanical instruments, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display is used. These CRT displays include a messaging system that can display much of the information a pilot needs to operate an airplane: status of flight instruments, navigation systems, as well as engine and other system information. Typically, one or two CRT displays are mounted in front of each pilot. System CRTs are mounted between the pilots"" CRTs on the instrument panel, and display engine and system information. When a system is having a problem, a message is displayed on a System CRT, which also illuminates and flashes the master warning light in the glareshield. The message on the CRT can illuminate in one of several colors, depending on the seriousness of the problem and the standard of the aircraft manufacturer. For example, one aircraft manufacturer has messages that illuminate in red, yellow or blue. In this case, red generally indicates a warning or emergency and is the most serious type of message requiring a prompt action. Yellow generally indicates a caution and is less serious but requires timely corrective action. Blue generally indicates an advisory condition that requires a corrective action when time permits.
The master warning lights, other cockpit lights, messaging system, and flags are all examples of direct visual signals provided to the pilot regarding the existence of a fault condition.
There are other types of signals that provide the pilot with information regarding the existence of a fault condition. For example, other cockpit instruments, aircraft movement, and flight control pressures also provide signals to the pilot regarding the existence of a fault condition. As used herein, these types of signals are denoted nonvisual. For example, if an engine were to cease functioning, the instruments that display the engine pressure would indicate less than when the engines are properly functioning, the nose of the aircraft would move in the direction of the failed engine, and pressure would be felt in the rudder pedals caused by the turning plane. In other words, a fault condition such as engine failure does not directly use lights, messages, or flags to indicate the failure, but other signals within the cockpit provide information to the pilot regarding the existence of such a condition.
Thus, a variety of ways exist for information regarding various aircraft conditions to be communicated to the pilot. As mentioned, an emergency procedures manual is meant to provide important information to the pilot regarding both the identification of a fault condition, the location of the appropriate fault procedure within the manual corresponding to the fault condition, and the presentation of the appropriate procedure steps in a logical manner.
Various problems exist with prior art emergency procedure manuals. For example, generally the only way of locating the fault procedure corresponding to a fault condition associated with a nonvisual signal is to use a procedure locating section such as an index. However, in most manuals, fault conditions associated with both visual and nonvisual signals are grouped together in the same index. Procedures that correspond to a fault condition associated with a visual signal, such as a condition associated with an illuminated cockpit light, need not be co-located with nonvisual procedures in a common index, so the grouping of visual with nonvisual fault conditions creates an unnecessarily large and inefficient index.
Further, in the index of many manuals, the hierarchical nature of the entries is not evident. For example, often words indicative of aircraft systems or words indicative of some fault condition are repeated many times and get in the way of identifying other key words of an entry in the index. FIG. 1, for example, illustrates the index of a prior art manual. For example, under the xe2x80x9cENGINE/APUxe2x80x9d heading, the words xe2x80x9cENGINExe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cFAILURExe2x80x9d are repeated many times.
Using an index as the primary method for finding a procedure corresponding to a fault condition associated with a visual signal is also inefficient. Doubt often exists when a crewmember has to effectively translate from a visual indication of an aircraft problem (such as a backlit warning light) to a different written text description of that problem in the index. The crewmember wonders if the correct translation has been made and if the correct procedure for the given fault condition has been located. A procedure locating section that includes a graphical representation of each warning light on the master warning light panel is a helpful step in being able to efficiently locate the appropriate procedure associated with a warning light.
Some prior art manuals do contain graphical representations of the capsules in the master warning light panel with associated locator symbols that indicate the location of an appropriate fault procedure. However, so far cockpit lights other than those on the master warning light panel have not been graphically represented in the procedure locator section. With such a prior art manual, if one of these other cockpit lights were illuminated, the pilot would have to determine which written text description in the index describes the associated fault condition, again having to make the mental translation from a backlit warning light to a different written text description.
Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2, one prior art locator page includes multiple locator symbols (6, 7, 8) next to the graphic representation of two different warning lights (LGEN and R GEN). These locator symbols each reference a different fault procedure. This adds to pilot confusion and stress because it is unclear how to select among the referenced procedures when one of these warning lights is illuminated.
Another problem with various aircraft emergency manuals is they contain multiple index pages for separately listing fault conditions for each different major aircraft system. For example, fault procedures are divided into sections corresponding to electrical, hydraulic, or fuel problems with each section having its own index. Locating the corresponding fault procedure for a given fault condition then requires a pilot to first determine the proper system to which a light or message relates, and then find the appropriate index for that system. This is time-consuming and inefficient.
With respect to the procedures themselves, often a single procedure will be presented over a number of pages in the emergency manual. As much as possible, all procedures should be on a single page.
Another problem with prior art manuals occurs when another procedure is referenced within a first procedure and the location of the referenced procedure is not specified. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a prior art manual illustrating a procedure titled xe2x80x9cENGINE HOTxe2x80x9d. Item 5 includes a step xe2x80x9cComplete Engine Failure Checklistxe2x80x9d, but without a reference to the location of that procedure.
Various ways currently exist to present a fault procedure to crewmembers, all of which lack a standard way of presenting the various procedure elements. For example, conditional statements and procedure logic is often not presented in a standard manner. When conditional statements are not presented effectively, procedure steps could be read multiple times or parts of the procedure that might apply because a certain condition is met may actually be ignored. Additionally, the dominance of certain steps to others may be important but not clearly indicated. Other procedure elements such as warnings, cautions, and notes may not be directed to the step to which they relate, but are instead tacked on at the end of a procedure. Also, the performance of the steps of a procedure may reach a point where there is no need to perform any additional steps, but this point is not clearly indicated.
In addition, most current procedure manuals do not use key words, color or icons to identify key procedure elements. Presentation of information that is critical to aircraft safety is often presented in an ineffective manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fault analysis guide that segregates the fault conditions associated with visual and nonvisual signals into separate locator sections. Additionally, the hierarchical nature of entries in the nonvisual locator section is made evident. A graphical depiction of the master warning lights, as well as other cockpit warning lights, in the same orientation as they exist on various display panels in the cockpit, are provided in the visual locator section. Alternatively, graphical depictions of messages from a messaging system are provided in the visual locator section. Further, when multiple locator symbols are used next to a graphical depiction of a warning light in the locator section, additional designators are provided to aid in the selection of the appropriate procedure. Also, when a first procedure references or calls another procedure, the location of the referenced procedure is provided. These measures aid crewmembers in the efficient location of fault procedures corresponding to given fault conditions.
A standard way of presenting various procedure elements within a procedure is described. The use of conditional statements within a procedure is described, including the use of key logical words and ending designators. Standard use of color, font, stroke, and various icons to identify key procedure elements allows the structure of a procedure to be instantly evident and aids the pilot in the ultimate performance of the fault procedure.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.